I have not forgotten. There has been much sacrifice lateley and it rides heavy on my heart. I am proud of our armed forces. I feel the need to express support for them publicly. Thank you for your sacrifices.

When you get a chance ask my brother Mike about his friend from college, Irwin.

He is an immigrant to this country, who, in light of the 9/11 tragedy and ensuing conflict, has decided to pay back the U.S. for the life it has afforded him by joining the U.S. Army Rangers Jungle Warfare division.

He is leaving grad school at Georgetown to serve the country that he now calls home!

Somehow a simple thank you doesn't seem to adequately recognize the offering of life and blood that Irwin and men and women like him have made. I am truly and deeply humbled when I think about what they do and that because of their efforts so much is available to me. Not the least of which is a quiet walk along the shore mingled with the pleasure of a newly risen sun and a striper on the line.

Perhaps we can do something for these men and women. I have heard of families hosting military personnel while they are on leave. Do you think any of them would be interested in some "guided" fishing trips while they are on leave? I'm sure there are many here who would jump at the chance to say thank you in this way, I know I would.

Yes I have been feeling bad lately seeing the bodies starting to come back of our young serviceman. It was to good to be true that air power did the entire job in Afghanistan.

I am a USAF veteran from the Vietnam era. 1966-1970

I was stationed at Dover AFB, Delaware for my last 3 years in the Military Airlift Command. First year of duty I did the Cold War in a fighter interceptor squadron in Iceland playing games with the Russians. Worked as an avionics technician on the large DOVER air transport squadrons that supported many world wide air lifts. Dover was and still is the east coast mortuary for receiving those lost in action that lived on the eastern part of the US. I had to debrief the pilots when they landed on their avionics problems. Daily planes from SEA would arrive loaded with coffins which I can tell you is a very sobering experience for any one.

We are going to lose more, as this is going to take a while. But it is the price of our american freedoms I am convinced that we have to be willing to pay.

I have three sons all of which could be in the military some time in the next five years. So I have additional emotions. But some one has to go and defend the country as many did in prior times of national defence need.

Once you have travelled through out the world, you will understand how special this country is.

Freedom is not free, god bless america, and protect our troops.

BTW, I wish I could go back in since I lost a close business colleague in the collapse of WTC which I would like to pay them back for believe me.

Today's Washington Post carried a picture of one of my closest childhood friends, as he prepared to launch his f-14 from the deck of the USS Theodore Roosevelt. Not a day goes by these days that I don't say a prayer for him and say thanks for what he and his fellow soldiers are doing.

As a nation and a people we've felt a lot of pain, anger - our lives have changed forever since 9-11. Yet in the wake of the tragedy the good have pulled closer together and the strong have become stronger. If it were me I would only ask that my life were not lost for naught, that to never see my children become adults or to forfeit the golden years with my wife was something given to create an even greater good in the world.

With deepest respect I salute the men and women who stand on the front line for America - past, present and future. God bless America.

I won't pretend to have the words to fully express how I feel about this situation and the sacrifices that our troops are making. Instead, I'll join in with the others here and say a heart felt thank you and keep all of them in my family's thoughts and prayers.

PMFly, I'd bet many of us would go back without hesitation. I would('69-'76). Protect your boys this way: educate them in all the common sense skills you think they'll ever use, then tell them to find more on their own, then employ and abide by them. A day doesn't pass we don't remember or miss our fallen friends or pray somehow, in our own way, for our brothers and sisters on the front lines, whether on a carrier deck, in a rifle squad, on domestic soil digging victims out of the WTC or maintaining a tenuous peace in the streets of Choose Your City, USA.

God Bless and Godspeed to all who defend freedom, foreign or domestic.

Although time sometimes manages to mask the pain of 9/11 I find that there are still some wounds that time cannot heal.

Despite the burden of these wounds I have still managed to recognize a certain swelling patriotism and sense of goodwill in America. I am proud of the response of the American people in the days and months after the attacks of 9/11.

I am especially proud of the men and women that are serving our country in Afghanistan. My pride is best represented by my old college roommate and great friend, Erwin Godoy.

As my brother stated in his words above, Erwin is temporarily abandoning his studies (an MBA and a Masters in International Affairs) both at Georgetown and at the University of Maryland in order to join our Armed Forces. He reports for boot camp on June 11th of this year and then he is off to officer training school.

Erwin was born in Guatemala, he moved to Chicago when he was 11 and he became a US citizen when we were seniors in college. He is genuinely proud to be a citizen of this country. He is decidedly grateful for the opportunities afforded to him in this great nation. He feels such a strong tie to the United States that he has decided to join our Armed Forces and give back to a country that has given so much to him. I find his dedication and his self-sacrifice truly remarkable and I thank him and the other members of the military like him for defending our great nation.

And just when you thought that this post contained no fly fishing content you were wrong. Here is a picture of Erwin and I out on Monomoy last July. He didn't catch any fish that day but he was fascinated as he watched Juro guide Jeff Borkowski to a hookup with the first flats striper of Jeff's fishing life. It was a great day...